Andy Pollock writes:
Like every other village, town and city across the nation, many people from Barrow joined the armed forces. Barrow-in-Furness also had an exceptionally significant role to play in the war effort during WW2 due to its shipbuilding, steelworks, and munitions factories. The majority of British submarines that were used in the Second World War were built in Barrow, along with some renowned surface vessels such as HMS Ajax, and HMS Illustrious. This made Barrow a target for German/Axis powers to bomb the town, and so the town experienced intense bombing, known as the “Barrow Blitz,” during 1941, with the heaviest attacks in April and May. The main targets were the factories and shipyard along with the railway that was crucial for this. Inevitably there was collateral damage with over 11,000 houses damaged, 92 lives lost and 531 people injured, and the church at St James was heavily damaged by a large parachute mine around 1am on Sunday 4th May 1941 – the story transcribed from the tower log book is available at https://www.barrowbells.org.uk/StJames_history.html#WW2 for those who would like to read more.
Unsurprisingly the town was very keen to commemorate the end of war on the 80th anniversary of VE and VJ day, and the Town Hall arranged a number of dignitaries, cadets, veterans and serving armed forces personnel to attend a service at St James’ on Friday 15th August to mark victory over Japan and the end of World War Two. Wreaths were laid and the Last Post was followed by two minutes silence before Reveille.
There was also General Ringing recorded on Bellboard here and a Quarter Peal of 1260 Plain Bob Triples recorded on Bellboard here.
